The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Peter lives with an old soldier since his parents are dead. He is sent to the market to get fish and bread only he spends the money on a trip to a fortuneteller who tells him his sister is alive, a sister he thought died at birth, and an elephant will lead him to her. A magician makes an elephant crash through the roof of a theater and crushes the legs of a rich patron. By way of the elephant and the intermingling of the citizens of Baltese, Peter finds his sister and things are set right.

This book was a fast read. It was neat how the lives of several people in the story intermingled to bring Peter back to his sister. Professional views thought this book was great - I thought it was just okay.

The 39 Clues: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park

Amy, Dan, and Nelly journey to Jamaica and the Bahamas in search of clues. The man in black is back only dressed in gray. Isabel Kabra are after the kids again and each attack is more deadly than the last and now they can't trust Nelly.

Another great addition to The 39 Clues series. I listened to it on CD that I borrowed from the county library. There are twists and turns every chapter and a huge confession is made at the end of the book. The story moves fast and the danger feels real for the brother and sister. You can actually feel the distrust the siblings feels for Nelly. The last book in the series (?) comes out at the end of August. I will be sure to read as soon as it is released to find out what happens to Amy, Dan, and Nelly.

Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman

When the car Jacob is in slides into a tree, his adoptive father says these words to Jacob - You are indestructible. Jacob survives the crash, his adoptive father doesn't. Now Jacob has to live with the Fathers at Holy Cross Catholic School and Church until he is 18. Milo, his best friend, and Jacob meet the new girl wtih the pink cast, Ophelia (Oh), at Holy Cross and everything goes wrong. Oh has Jacob sign her cast and he writes "You are indestructible" on her cast. On the way to Milo's dad's book store, Oh rides her longboard and has terrible fall but escapes unharmed. It is then that Jacob realizes he has the power to protect people by saying those words. When Milo and Oh find out,Jacob realizes he has created a monster.

I just knew I was going to like this book because Patrick Carman wrote it. It was just an okay book. It took a long time to get into it. I actually put it down several times and then last night decided I had to finish it. IMO the story took too long to set up and get moving.

Need by Carrie Jones

The only father Zara has ever known died 4 months ago and since then she has been only existing. Hoping a change of scene will help Zara heal, her Mom sends her to her Grandmother Betty's house in Bedford, Maine. Being the new girl in school isn't easy and immediately she has made enemies with the "in" group. She makes friend with Izzy, Devin, and Nick. Zara has no idea why she is being stalked by a tall stranger who whispers her name from the woods near Betty's house. When a boy from the cross country team disappears, her friends decide she needs to hear the truth. The stalker is a pixie and not a nice Tinkerbell pixie either. As she tries to comprehend the existence of pixies, she is suddenly introduced to the existence of were creatures, including her grandmother. Now Zara has to find the strength to conquer her fears because her mother is now the target of the Pixie King.


I just finished listening to Need by Carrie Jones. I wasn't sure I was going to like and ended up liking it alot. So much so that I am going to read the sequel Captivate. I liked the characters and Grandmother Betty is not your normal grandmother. The story has humor, suspense, supernatural creatures and romance.

Gotta Keep Reading

Wikis

I find using a Wiki is hard to manuever. I can't say I use a Wiki regularly but I do add to the CFISD library destiny Wiki when something needs to be updated or added. Even after adding to the Wiki I still lose my file when I am adding. Then I have to relocate the file once I find it.

I think Wikis would be useful for the staff if a wiki was set up on a certain topic like differentiation instruction. Staff members could add differentiation ideas for lessons and instruction sheets for others to use. The only problem I can see is you need to trust who has access. There could be accidental changes made, something deleted by accident. Some level of proficiency has to be required.

I think the Wiki can be used for an ongoing school project like we use for Destiny Help. Then again someone has to be responsible for keeping it up to date.

I know teachers and students use the wiki to discuss classroom novels. Students responses are then used as a daily grade. I still worry about this because I know some of my students don't have access to a computer. Maybe this should be an option for a response.

Anything online must be current to be effective. Without that, it is a unfulfilling exercise.

Nings and the library

I like the idea of Nings. It seems to be a more controlled environment than other social networking sites. It is also easier to navigate than a Wiki. I like the idea of public and private Nings. I can see using a Ning for an online book club. Get the students started with the idea of a book club on Facebook and then switch them over to the Ning. I can see having several book club/discussions going at once: faculty and student. I also like that it seems to have been created with the educator in mind. Something not as free as a social network but with the same features. I am sure there are other uses for the Ning but I need to think on it for a while.

Blogs and RSS feeds

While exploring RSS feeds and what to add, I like to add blogs/feeds that support the library. I like School Library Journal and Blue Willow Bookshop. School Library Journal is more of a professinal site. I personally like Blue Willow because of the opportunities to meet authors and have them autograph books for school. Blue Willow provides a more intimate setting for meeting the authors and having discussions with them. I purchase books there, have the books autographed, and either added the autographed books to the collection or give away as reading incentive prizes. Blue Willow sponsored Teen Book Con this past spring and I am interested in taking a group of students this coming spring.

I located Blue Willow and Teen Book Con through the search component of Google Reader. Easy as pie to add to my list of "followings". Once I take some more time to think about what I would like to add to the Reader, I will go back and search for the sites.

Like I said in my previous post, I need to think about how to present Google Reader to my students and staff. I need to find several ways both can use this technology in their school lives.

RSS feeds?

Little did I know that when I started following several blogs I had already added them to Google Reader. I like the idea of keeping everything in one place. It is also easy to add a new RSS feed to Google Reader. Since this is new to me I am not sure exactly how I am going to use it. I would like to find a way to get teachers and students involved in using Google Reader or its equivalent. I am open to ideas on how teachers can use this in class. I need to "experience" Google Reader and RSS feeds first. From what I can tell this will be another site to log into each day and check. I always wonder if the district will let us access this from school. This will have to be added to my daily to do list.

Idea: Can students do this as a fact gathering instrument for research? Will they be able to access it at all from school? Can teachers do this instead of creating a Word document of websites for research?

I am not sure how valuable this will be for my students. I can see value in it for the staff. I am going to have to work on a brochure or something for the staff - inservice perhaps? I just don't know.

Blogging? Who me?

Me blogging? I didn't realize I already had a blog set up because I set it up a year ago and promptly forgot about it. It was added to the "one more thing to do" list. With things coming at you nonstop and faster than the speed of light, blogging became a "when I get to it" task. I can see now I wasn't ready to blog but now maybe I am. It isn't that I don't think it would be neat to discuss books with students and other librarians, it is the time factor. I don't like to do anything half way. I am really going to try to keep up with this blog this year starting this summer. I went to Library Lounge Lizards' blog and really liked his suggestion of dedicating a day of week to add certain content to the blog. Organization is the key. I think if I start this during the summer, then when school starts again, it will already be a habit. I still have lots to learn before my blog can be a site my students go check out. I need to add book trailers, for one. I am sure it isn't hard but I just need to do it a few times. I am also sure several librarians can walk me through that task.
What I am envisioning for my blog is a space that includes new titles, summaries, reviews, book trailers, upcoming movies from books, discussion, and book recommendations. I want something eye catching and creative. I really want to capture my students interest and keep it. I want to get students opinions about books and what I should read next. I want them to know I am there for them and I want them to succeed in school. High hopes, I know. I will shoot for the moon and if I don't reach the moon, perhaps I will fall among the stars.

One More Time

I am going to try this again. It has been a year since I started this blog, got busy and forgot about it. Hopefully I will do much better this year at keeping the blog up-to-date and full of useful, fun information about books, movies from books, and up coming events.